Tales Past Twilight
by CoolyCakeCove
Summary: Series of mysteries regarding the supernatural, solved by the Zweilts. (Rated T to be safe.)
1. Tale 1, Part 1

**Tales Past Twilight**

 _Series of mysteries regarding the supernatural, solved by the Zweilts._

. . .

 _Tale 1_

 _Photographic Girl_

 _* Yuki knows how terrible the number 3 can be, especially in a photo. Still, it was only superstition until Anzu shot her picture and the person in the middle of the three students is absorbed into the camera while Yuki watches in horror. *_

* * *

It's easy to tell when Hotsuma is angry because Yuki can feel the vibrations of slammed doors throughout the mansion. And he's within the dinning room no less, preparing the table for dinner. When the door feeds its reverberations through the boy, he stops and balances a tremulous bowl of soup in his hands, relaxing as the world stills once more. "I wonder why Hotsuma is upset?" he wonders out loud.

Tooko, rubbing her ears frustratedly, replies, " _I'll_ ask for you, Yuki, because here the noisy, little bugger comes now."

A second after she closes her mouth, the double doors slam open and Hotsuma stomps into the room. His face is red not from embarrassment, but from fury.

Yuki sets the bowl down before speaking. "What's the matter, Hotsuma?"

"It's _his_ fault," he growls. "Why'd you have to find someone that stubborn?"

"'Find someone?'" echoes Yuki uncertainly. "'Stubborn?'"

"It's that stupid Duras! All I need is _one_ favor and he's too far up his own ego to help me!"

"Quit yelling, you moron," Tooko chides, "and what's your problem, anyway?"

"It's our class assignment," Hotsuma answers broadly, but Yuki picks up immediately.

"Ah, it's a documentary project for our Research Class. We're supposed to document anything we deem important or interesting and present it to the class Friday. Did you want to videotape Luka?"

"No, he's boring. _But_ , I want him to take this camera, go to Infernus, and video all the weird and gross demons over there! Sure most humans won't believe they're really demons, but maybe Sensei'll think I took the extra mile with design and special effects - or whatever. I need a good grade, else I can't play sports, Yuki."

"Fighting Duras is enough for you," Tooko says with a sly smirk. "Why sports?"

"Whatever, ya hypocrite - your brother plays tennis, so I'm gonna play a sport too."

"That's true. But he has a higher attendance and better grades than you, not to mention his positive attitude and multitude of friends - "

Hotsuma makes a loud noise of disgust. "You're gushin' about him again. Can't you not ruin my appetite before I even ate yet?"

"Knock it off, both of you. It's dinnertime."

Yuki exhales when Kuroto and Senshirou enter the room. And like that, tensions plummet to more manageable levels. Senshirou tasks himself to assist Yuki. Before long, everyone is seated and eating (besides Luka who leans on the wall closest to Yuki).

Halfway through dinner, Hotsuma taps Yuki's shoulder. "What're you doing again? Y'know, the documentary."

"I haven't decided yet," Yuki says after a moment's pause, trying to get from out his head and into reality. "There's been so much going on."

Hotsuma starts smiling. Yuki gets a suspicion he may have walked into a trap. "Good. We can be partners!"

"Partners? I don't think we can have - "

"Nonsense. You, me, and Luka - to Infernus for footage. _You'll_ get an A and you won't have to stress about getting bad grades or your video topic! Or what about the fact stress makes you more likely to have a heart attack? That's why if we work together, we can do this!"

Yuki frowns. _What are you planning, Hotsuma? This doesn't sound like you..._

"Hey," Tsukumo interrupts, voice soft. "Isn't that a dangerous place for Yuki? That may not be a good idea."

"I know," Hotsuma replies sharply. "We won't be going there. Luka would be! We'll just edit the footage later."

"Um, I don't know." Yuki looks over his shoulder to watch Luka. The Duras was glaring at Hotsuma with cold eyes, but now he softens his expression to look at Yuki.

"Why do I feel like you're trying to manipulate Yuki into your scheme," Kuroto grumbles over his cup of smoking tea.

"I ain't manipulating no one! It's an offer! An offer from a _considerate_ classmate to another!"

Hotsuma's partner, Shuusei, leans back in his chair to observe his comrade. "There are wonders in this world that can work. Why only Infernus?"

"Why not? This world is stupid and boring. Infernus is stupid, but it certainly ain't boring - that place must be crawling in strange and weird crap! Humans nowadays are too tame and afraid to break routine."

"Then how about making the documentary on things that are not humans such as animals?"

"And bore me to death editing it? No way."

Yuki, on the other hand, looks away in thought, mind roaming about topics that do not include humans. He thinks about endangered species or extinct species, but the one thing that catches his attention most is _memory_.

What makes a person who they are? Their memories, Yuki assumes. Without limbs or senses, the person is still themself, just with a set of different skills. Without being able to recall their past experiences, people are not themselves. They do not respond to the call of their name or the things they once loved.

Yuki starts to think of all his forgotten memories and a heaviness start to weigh his heart. Is it right for them all to see him as their Yuki of the past? Aren't they two, completely different people? So, they shouldn't...

He is jerked from his thoughts with a firm clasp on his shoulder. With a jolt, he looks to the arm connecting the fingers, then the person the arm connects to. Silver eyes watch him under dark hair and furrowed brows.

"I'm fine," Yuki quickly blurts before Luka can worry about him. "I-I'm just really pessimistic sometimes, you know. It's a bad habit..." He forces himself to laugh and smile and is unsurprised Luka is not convinced. But the Duras respects his privacy and backs away.

At the end of the night, Yuki and Hotsuma manage to convince Luka to film some of the stuff in Infernus. With a quick tutorial of how to work a camera, Luka leaves.

Yuki still has his camera while Hotsuma sighs and starts to play video games. Perhaps he _may_ tape some things having to do with memory.

.

.

To others, the documentary is as easy as breathing. Freshman journalist Anzu Mashiba thinks of her trusty camera as a _sword_ , powerful and as an extension of her nosy nature.

Just before heading to school, Anzu always grabs her camera. It's a little old, but it's still good for one more time.

Her documentary takes place at school, highlighting all the eccentric and mysterious students. The first thing she does is record a grumpy blond boy in her class.

"And here we have the wild Hotsuma Renjou," she narrates. "His fury extends to everyone man, woman, and child. He's also dumb and unreliable - what a champ."

Hotsuma, who was sleeping, sits up and glares at the pigtailed girl. "Knock it off! Whydda talkin' about?"

"The beast is awake! All hell's broken loose!" Anzu playfully skips away, Hotsuma shouting after her.

 _There are plenty of strange people in my class. What about him?_

She sets her sights on a boy looking out the window with a melancholy look. "Ah, the mysterious transfer student. Has connections to several students in Izumimari as well as a mysterious - dare I say attractive - individual every so often. Despite being a cliche, this boy is sweet and adorable, not cold. Could that sugary-sweet smile be a facade? Yuki Giou could be the most enigmatic student yet..."

Yuki blinks into reality when he hears his name. Though, looking around, most mind their own business while a girl with a camera scampers out the room.

.

.

"Please use this time to edit your documentaries."

Hotsuma flips open an ancient-looking computer that, while startling modern people, feels natural. He prefers this over touch screen laptops. He downloads the film on the chip and watches it load into the screen.

 _Luka, you didn't let me down_! He chuckles evily.

The Duras managed to nab some pretty amazing footage. He aimed with a steady hand despite the camera being handheld. He got shots of amazing-looking creatures and monsters, got shots of dismal backgrounds, and got the occasional shot of Duras going about their day in Infernus.

Eventually he attracts the attention of his classmates who gawk in amazement of his footage.

"Wow, the special effects look so real!"

"What creativity..."

"I think Hotsuma has found something he's good at."

 _Oh yes,_ thinks Hotsuma evily, _solid A at this rate._

Anzu pokes her head through the crowd at looks at the footage as well. Her stomach lurches at the amount of effort made to each shot, even if the documentary's story is a little unclear.

Anzu feels cheated.

Photography and film is her area of expertise, one she spent many years and a day on. She's being upstaged by a boy with sudden film prowess. Her documentary about strange students could never compare to his masterpiece.

She sulks back into her seat. _Dang it, Anzu. How are you gonna beat that?!_

"Um, Anzu?"

She looks to the soft voice her called her name: the transfer student.

"Are you okay? You're never gloomy."

"Thanks for asking, Yuki. Yup, I am definitely gloomy. Your friend's a god at this crap! What am I supposed to do?!"

"...sorry. If you feel better, I'm not doing something as grandiose as his. I'm making a documentary over memories."

"Memories? That's..." Anzu frowns up in thought. "Why that?"

He smiles. "No real important reason..."

Anzu narrows her eyes. _You're a reeaal cookie, eh, Giou?_ "Good luck on that. I need to find a way to make my documentary the best."

"I know you'll do amazing. You're the head journalist, after all," says the boy sincerely.

 _He's right. I will do_ anything _to beat Hotsuma!_

Anzu starts to laugh. It starts out slightly strange before descending to comic book villains levels of laughter.

"Is she okay?"

"Probably."

 _Tale 1, Part 1_

 _Photographic Girl_


	2. Tale 1, Part 2

**Tales Past Twilight**

 _Series of mysteries regarding the supernatural, solved by the Zweilts._

. . .

 _Tale 1_

 _Photographic Girl_

* **AN:** **Anzu Mashiba is a canon character in the manga (from a short story).** *

* * *

After the bell rings, the loud noise of camera snaps floods the entire school. Many teenagers wish to go home and rest or study, but many look back at their school and wonder, _Who is causing that awful noise?_

Freshman journalist Anzu Mashiba can tell them who it is - it is _her_ , trying her best to capture the portraits of all Izumimari's unusual students in their natural habits.

And because of her behavior, her blatant disregard of her muses, she snaps a picture of a person she should not have.

At first, Anzu took a photo of the newest freshman in Izumimari: a black haired boy (though anyone could mistake him as a girl from behind) who hated to smile, laugh, and be a normal teenager.

She snaps a photo of him, chuckling at her results long enough for him to pinpoint her position and claim her camera.

"What do you _think_ you're doing?" says the boy in a nasty tone, holding the camera out of her reach.

"Taking a photo of the most beautiful boy, of course," she lies, her brown eyes big.

"Yeah, right." The comment does not phase him. "What is this photo for? Blackmail material? For a hit list?"

 _Hit list? Who does he think he is?!_ "Um, no, I'm not trying to kill you or manipulate you! It's for my documentary! I'm taking a photo of all you weird and unusual students here at Izumimari."

The boy's gaze hardens. "That _documentary_ thing again..." The rest of her words connect in his brain. " _Oi_ , you're calling _me_ weird?"

"Well am I wrong? You thought I was trying to kill you!"

He rolls his eyes. "Isn't everyone?"

"Seems to me you have a mad case of paranoia as well, to add upon your idiosyncrasies. You are now more weird than enigmatic. And somewhat unstable."

The boy stares at her in silence, finally saying, "I still have your camera. You're doing a shoddy job if you want it back."

At once, Anzu pales. "Return it to me now, or I'll get the teacher!"

"That's more than enough time for me to delete my picture off here."

She growls in frustration. "Just let me keep your creepiness!"

Feed up, Anzu takes quick note of her surroundings. They are outside, near a tree. She can climb up the tree a bit to retrieve her camera. It's not the first time she's ever climbed a tree.

(Yes, she climbed trees and walls to get a snapshot of the mysterious Shuusei Usui - too bad she can't _find_ the boy long enough to take it for her documentary.)

So she presses her right foot on the bark, then the left all while gripping the boy's arm, and pushes off the trunk. The boy staggers in surprise. Anzu's fingertips graze her camera's bottom.

Then it all goes wrong.

The boy found her way more heavier than expected, so he began to fall. And because of his already weakening grip, her fingertips push the camera out of his hand and onto the concrete below. It slides away from them both.

The boy manages to land sitting, holding Anzu to make sure she would not get hurt, but her mind is elsewhere.

"My _camera_!"

She tugs herself out the boy's grip and kneels on the ground where her camera is, broken and battered. Its insides are now outsides. The lens is shot. Picking it up, all kinds of screws and metal bits fall out.

Her camera is useless.

"How could you?!" declares Anzu to the boy standing at her side. "My videos, my photos, they're all gone, you _jerk_!"

"Don't you dare blame me! _You_ were the one taking photos without permission. _You_ were the one who knocked the camera out of my hand, you impatient girl!"

Frustrated, Anzu attempts to kick him where it hurts most. The boy catches her ankle before the kick connects.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, _Kuroto Hourai_!" She wails in despair, trying to kick him.

"Stop being so dramatic! Go buy another one."

"My data is still gone, you jerk! I could've beat _Hotsuma_! Let me go!"

With her foot free, Anzu grabs all pieces of her camera and runs away, the teen boy looking at her in a mix of guilt and annoyance.

Anzu stuffs the remains of her camera in her bag and leaves school in a run.

 _Hotsuma's going to beat me! His documentary is going to be the best thing ever! Everyone will go to him instead of me for their video needs! This isn't far, not fair, not fair!_

She stops running to catch her breath and to rub her wet eyes and cheeks with a sweater sleeve. Once again, her talent is being undermined by someone better than her so suddenly. There is nothing she can do. It's already Tuesday afternoon.

Cutting through her despair is a sudden cold breeze in the middle of spring. She shivers, clutching her bag close to her chest.

An echoing voice fills her ears: " _You have lost something important to you. I can give it back. For a small price._ "

"H-Hey, who's there?!" She looks around, but the people she sees are normal, paying her no mind. _Is this a prank? Joke?_

" _I will restore your camera in its full glory. Once I do, you have to do me a small favor,_ " the voice continues.

Anzu realizes only she can feel the breeze and hear the voice. "Who are you? I don't understand..."

" _Take a photo of the Light of God. Make sure 3 or more are in the frame. He must be in the middle of the humans. Take a picture of him and consider your debt paid._ "

"What...who...I don't know what you're talking about!" She shouts, aware of people are giving her worried looks, but they don't matter right now.

" _You may know him as Yuki Giou. Take a picture of him and consider your debt paid._ "

"Let me have a say in this!" The cold air surrounding her vanishes, but her bag is freezing. She reaches in, jerking her hand away from the cold metal. She covers her sleeve over her hand and grabs her camera.

It's _restored_. All her videos and her photos are there. The camera looks even better than when she first bought it! Incredible.

 _Make sure there's 3 in a frame?_ Anzu takes a photo of the three nearest people. At first, the bright light blinds them. Then the man in the middle disappears before her eyes, his ashes tracing back to the camera's lens.

"Oh...oh my gosh," Anzu stammers.

The people caught in the flash have fully dilated pupils. They look at her.

"I'm sorry..." murmurs the journalist.

"It's Anzu!"

"What an amazing photographer!"

"Take my picture, take my picture!"

A crowd of eager faces surround her.

 _They're...not mad at me?_ Then more confidently: _Well! Thanks to this camera, that documentary is going to be easy._

.

.

Kuroto slams the door into the wall, shouting, "Great job, loser! Your laziness caused some girl to cry!"

Hotsuma jolts awake in his seat, his videogame paused. He rubs at his eyes while Kuroto walks into his view.

"Whaddya - "

"Pigtails, brown eyes, slender," Kuroto says. "Know a girl? She's a freshman like us."

Hotsuma takes a long moment to think. "Uh...er...I keep thinking about apricots."

"This isn't the time for food!"

"Wait! That girl is...Anzu something. What about her?"

Kuroto gasps at the mention of Anzu. "So _she's_ the journalist girl. Yes, her personality sounds right."

"Get to the chase, bean boy!"

"Look, your project is making people like Anzu - who actually try their best as humans - cry. She's a journalist who lives for these kinds of things. You screwed her over, Hotsuma."

Hotsuma winces. "Okay, okay. I'll tone down the footage and stuff."

"And you'll do her one more favor."

"Eh?"

"You'll buy her a new camera."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't you realize how old her camera is? Takashiro can afford for us to have new cameras, but her parents can't do the same for her. Buy her a new camera."

The wild boy grits his teeth and growls. "Fine. But I don't got any money."

"You could ask your partner. He'd do just about anything for you, anyways."

Hotsuma gets up and stomps out the room, slamming doors again. Kuroto rubs at his blossoming headache.

The following school morning begins as normal.

Hotsuma is the only one late to school, but he has Anzu's new camera in hand _and_ a debt to Shuusei. He drops into his seat and starts sleeping.

Yuki plays with his camera absentmindedly while he thinks of his documentary. What could he record? Memory is important to the boy. Yet it's hard to represent that on tape.

 _I could...videotape some people with amnesia or possibly Alzheimer's_ , he thinks.

Yuki looks up when he hears noises and Anzu's loud voice above his classmates: "Please line up _here_ to get your picture taken for my documentary!"

Yuki gets up and slips into the middle of the crowd forming in his classroom. Anzu seems to have lined up three students - each of them having something weird about them - while his classmates watch in absolute fascination.

 _3 in a photo?_ thinks he, feeling odd.

"Okay!" Anzu aims her camera. "When I say 'cheese,' smile! Ready? One, two, cheeese!"

Yuki knows how terrible the number 3 can be, especially in a photo. Still, it was only superstition until Anzu shot her picture and the person in the middle of the three students is absorbed into the camera while Yuki watches in horror.

His classmates, though, cheer.

Anzu turns around, bows to the crowd. "Anyone else weird who would like to go next?"

Yuki escapes the rowdy crowd. _What on earth? There is something going on. My classmates are brainwashed. The camera absorbs souls._ Yuki nudges Hotsuma awake and explains everything.

"We need the others," he states and takes off.

All of the Zweilt attending Izumimari gather at the tree outside.

"Without a doubt," Shuusei says, "this is the work of a Duras. The deal obviously involved her camera."

"Why is it absorbing souls?" says Kuroto.

Tooko explains to him, "Some people believe photos of 3 persons can absorb souls - the person in the middle. That would make Anzu incredibly difficult to defeat normally, because there can never be more than 2 in a frame."

"Then let's try 4 or more in a frame," offers Kuroto.

"I don't know," Yuki says, "it's possible that if 4 are in the frame, the middle will still be absorbed. So the middle 2 in the 4 will be absorbed into the camera."

"Or nothin' could happen," adds Hotsuma. "Kinda don't want to try it out."

"We need to stop her immediately, but not here," Shuusei explains. "We can't use our powers to the fullest extent and there are innocents around. Too many."

"So the next best thing is luring her out of here and fight," Tooko says.

"Exactly."

Anzu Mashiba stops walking. Ever since she noticed Yuki and Hotsuma vanish, she _had_ to follow them. It would be bad for her contract - and her wonderful recordings and photos! - if the boy got away.

After much searching, she finds the boy next to more weird and unusual students: the twins, the jerk Kuroto, Hotsuma, and Shuusei. From her vantage of three floors up, Anzu places Yuki in frame, a girl to his right and Kuroto to his left.

"Ah, Yuki Giou, we meet again. You are quite the strange one. What does 'Light of God' mean? Why does my contractor want you so badly? You are very mysterious indeed."

With her finger, she winds up the camera and takes the shot.

And with that, Yuki Giou is absorbed into her collection.

 _Tale 1, Part 2_

 _Photographic Girl_


End file.
